While You Were Sleeping
by Anja Hoyl
Summary: Shippo wakes up to find Inuyasha and Kagome gone, but finds them stargazing next to a lake. He falls asleep in Kagome's lap, and she soon falls asleep on Inuyahsa's shoulder...Or so he thinks.
1. He Said

_A/N: I was having a little writers block, so I decided to write a quick (very quick) one shot. It's nothing overly original or dramatic, just subtely cute and sweet. Hopefully you enjoy it as one of those stories where you read it, give a sigh of contentment that everythig is right in the world, and then move on with your life. Enjoy! Anja._

_I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters. The story, however, is mine._

**When You Were Asleep**

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

He walked down the path, following their scents. He had woken up to find Kagome and Inuyasha gone, which worried him since it was the middle of the night. He had followed their scents until he had reached a small clearing which overlooked the lake that they were camping near. He saw them there, sitting in the grass, staring up at the starry sky. He saw Inuyasha's ear twitch, and he suddenly turned his head to look at him.

"What are you doing here runt?" He snapped. Kagome turned to look at him too.

"Shippo, are you alright? I something wrong?"

Shippo shook his head and came over to Kagome. "I woke up and you two were gone, and I was worried." He said. Inuyasha rolled his eyes as Kagome took Shippo into her lap. The little kitsune cuddled to her, and she stroked his head gently.

"We couldn't sleep, so we came here to do some star gazing," she said gently to the little ball of fur in her lap. Shippo nodded, and let himself be relaxed by Kagome's stroking.

"I was worried that some monster had taken you away or somthin'," he murmured. They both heard Inuyasha 'keh' beside them, but neither said anything to the hanyou.

"You think I wouldn't have protected her?" he finally muttered.

Kagome smiled. "No one is doubting you Inuyasha," she said sweetly, earning herself another 'keh.' She sighed as she kept stroking the small child in her lap, until his breathing became deeper and he could hear nothing they were saying from his slumber. She shivered a little in the cool night air, and was surprised to feel heat beside her as Inuyasha sat down next to her. He took off his haiori, and placed it around her shoulders.

"I'm not cold." Kagome said.

"Shut up and wear it wench. You were shivering, therefore you were cold. I'm not going to have you getting sick and having to go back to your era to go to one of those 'hospital' things."

Kagome giggled. "Thank-you," she said.

"Keh." They sat in silence for a few moments. Inuyasha finally dared to look down at the girl sitting next to him. Her eyes were turned to the starry sky, and she didn't even notice him staring at her. He gazed at her face and hair, how her whole being was accentuated by the soft glow of the moon and stars. Her black hair had a silver sheen to it in the moonlight, and her eyes sparkled with the twinkle of a million stars. He wanted to reach out and touch the skin on her face, to see if it really was as smooth and warm as it looked. _Damn, I shouldn't be thinking like this. I should be focusing on finding the jewel shards, not about how beautiful Kagome looks. _He stopped his thoughts as he contemplated the phrase his mind had just produced. _Beautiful…yes, I guess that is true. She looks so comfortable with Shippo in her lap, almost like a mother with her child... _He studied her, wanting to drink in every detail of her, and he did this so intently that he did not even notice the fact that her eyes had turned to look at him, a curious expression on her face.

She felt his gaze sweeping across her, and was surprised that he did not stop when she looked at him. His eyes seemed to be focused on her completely, and she shivered under his gaze. It wasn't until his eyes fully met hers did he realize that she was staring back at him. He looked at the lake right away, a streak of blush across his face. "What are you staring at wench?" he snapped, his voice an octave higher than usual. Kagome smiled, and slowly leaned on Inuyasha's shoulder. She felt him tense for a brief second, then wrap his arm around her as though by instinct. She giggled. "Hey, stop that. I just don't want you to fall asleep and fall backward and hit your head on a rock," he said defensively, then noticed how sappy it sounded. "I mean, then who would detect shards for us?" she said, trying to cover up.

Kagome didn't say anything, only snuggled closer to him and let her eyes drift shut. He felt her slowly falling asleep, until she leaned against him limply, completely oblivious to her surroundings. Inuyasha held her closer, listening to the sound of her heartbeat.

_She makes the world seem so peaceful. I don't want her to leave me. We're so close to completing the jewel…she'll want to go back to her time after that, once Naraku is gone. She'll want to go back to take her 'test' things and be with her friends at that 'mall' place._ He sighed softly. _I don't care where she is, as long as I can be with her. I'll even let her sit me once in a while. _He smiled to himself a little as he rested his head on top of hers. He hear Shippo stir in Kagome's lap, and lifted his head to look at the Kitsune.

"Inuyasha…I was so afraid when I woke up and you two were gone. Will you always protect Kagome?" the little child asked, still half asleep.

"Of course I will. Now shut up and go to sleep." Inuyasha replied gently. Shippo nodded slightly, and snuggled deeper into Kagome's stomach. After a few minutes, everything was quiet again. Inuyasha looked down at the two forms he was holding.

"Of course I will," he whispered to himself. "I love her too much." He paused. "Please don't ever leave me Kagome." With that, he lay his head once again on Kagome's.

He never knew that when Shippo had spoken to him, Kagome had woken up. He also never knew that neither of them had fallen back asleep, and that the secret smile that each one had on their lips was due to his last words.

…………………………………………………………………………………………


	2. She Said

_A/N: I have had a lot of requests for another chapter, so here you go! Anja._

**Chapter 2 She Said**

"NO!" Kagome screamed as she watched Inuyasha smash into the tree again. It had been a long, hard battle already, and she could see the lines of fatigue on her hanyou's face.

"Hiraikotsu!" Kagome heard form behind her, and watched the white boomerang whiz by her head. It had no affect though on the youkai. It laughed and swatted the weapon to the ground. Kagome looked back down at the passed out monk she was protecting. Poor Miroku, he had not even seen the bee's before a few had already been sucked up by his Wind Tunnel. He had stopped soon enough that everyone knew he would be fine with some rest, if they weren't all killed beforehand.

"Kagome, watch out!" She heard Sango's warning and looked up to see the youkai charging at her and Miroku. She dove to the side, rolling the monk with her. They slammed into a pile of rocks, making Kagome lose her breath. She tried to sit up, and if possible, stand and prepare to strike if the thing was to attack again. It did, but Kagome only had time to sit up. She turned to cover Miroku, bracing herself for the impact.

It didn't come though. Instead, she heard a frustrated cry from the monster, and Inuyasha's yell. The youkai went flying, but not before it shot out a long tendril strait into Inuyasha's stomach.

"INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed, her own voice sounding odd to her. She watched Inuyasha fall to the ground, but he surprisingly fell on his feet, clutching his stomach. An odd grin was on his face, as he lifted Tetsaiga.

"Wind Scar," he almost whispered, and brought the sword down hard, sending deadly energy at the youkai. He was gone, without time to make a single sound. Everything was still for a few moments, and Inuyasha collapsed to the ground.

"No," Kagome whispered, as she ran over to the fallen hanyou. He was knocked out, but breathing. Kagome looked over her shoulder to where Sango was already kneeling over Miroku. The two women nodded at each other, and with the help of Shippo and Kilala, got the two men back to their camp.

…………………………………………………………………………………….

"Hey watch it wench, I don't need any more of that stuff." A rather annoyed and fully awake Inuyasha snapped. Kagome had been spending the better part of the hour trying to clean all of his various cuts and wounds.

"What, are you going to be a big baby and say that it hurts?" she asked teasingly, enjoying how Inuyahsa huffed.

"No of course not, I'm not weak you know. I just don't need it, I can heal myself." Kagome smiled to herself, and strained her ear to listed to Miroku on the other side of the fire.

"Yes, it hurts there too Sango," she could hear him say every so often, as Sango applied some of the same cream to the monk. _Well, at least someone is enjoying it, _Kagome thought.

"Come on Inuyasha," she finally said as she got up.

He looked at her, a little surprised. "Where are we going."

She sighed. "Down to the lake. I need to clean that wound on your stomach, but I don't have enough water here." Inuyasha got up, although a little grudgingly. They walked down to the lake together. Once they reached the shore, Kagome turned to Inuyasha, blushing a little. "I-I need you to take your shirt off," she said.

He shrugged, and slowly undid his haori. Kagome averted her eyes, busying herself with filling one of the containers she brought with her with water. She sat down on the grass lining the bank, and pointed to a spot next to her, not looking up at the half naked Inuyasha. He sat down next to her, and leaned backwards on his hands a little so that she could have easy access to his stomach.

Kagome dipped the cloth in the water and started to slowly clean the wound, working hard to focus on the blood and gore instead of the smooth, lean, supple muscles the blood and gore was inflicted upon.

Inuyasha stared up at the sky, allowing Kagome to work her magic. _He_ was trying to focus on the pain of the wound and coldness of the water, rather than on the gentle, caressing hands alleviating that pain with the cold water.

Kagome finally finished cleaning and wrapped a length of cloth and gauze she had brought along as well. "There, it shouldn't bleed now, as long as you don't strain yourself," she said, securing the gauze. Inuyasha nodded his head, finally allowing himself to bring his gaze back down to look at the girl in front of him. He quickly regretted that, as he found himself staring right into her eyes, her face framed by her dark hair, making her seem even more serene and beautiful than she had already looked to him. He blushed.

"What are you staring at?" he snapped, as he looked away, and stretched himself on the grass, bringing his attention once again back up to the sky. Kagome sighed, and looked up too, shifting herself into a more comfortable position.

_He's never going to change probably. When it comes to confrontation with a monster, he's the most fearless being on earth, but when it comes to a confrontation involving feelings….well, his bravery conveniently takes a vacation_. She looked down at him. His eyes were closed, and his head was resting on his arms. Her heart fluttered at seeing him look so peaceful.

"Inuyasha, thank you for saving me again today," she said, and looked back at the stars. She was rather surprised when she didn't hear a 'keh' or 'whatever' from him, and brought her gaze back down. She wasn't sure now if he had fallen asleep, although she would not have been surprised if he had, since he had fought a long, hard battle. "Inuyasha?" she whispered, but got no response form him. _Yup, he's asleep_, she thought.

She shuffled a little closer to him, and draped his haori over his chest. He didn't even twitch a muscle. Kagome felt her heart start pumping faster as her hand brushed gently against his hair.

She chuckled to herself a little. "Maybe this time, it's my turn, " she whispered aloud, thinking about the evening about a week before, when Shippo had found them at the lake. "Maybe it's my turn to talk, to tell you I love you. You were certainly brave about admitting your feelings like you did when you thought I was asleep a week ago-" anything further that she had to say was lost.

"WHAT!" Inuyasha shot up, his haori falling off his still bare chest. Kagome jumped back, giving a small cry of surprise. Inuyasha stared at her, his golden eyes flickering with something that looked like fear and confusion. "What did you just say?" he squeaked out.

Kagome couldn't help giggling. He looked like a lost puppy, his ears twitching, eyes wide with horror. "I said (giggle) 'You were certainly brave about admitting your feelings like you did when you thought I was asleep a week ago'-" she was once again cut off by Inuyasha's voice. Well, more like his choking at first.

"Y-you what? You h-heard me? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SLEEPING!" He cried out, his whole body tense and quivering.

Kagome wanted to laugh at the panic in his voice, but for some reason the situation seemed too serious for that for some odd reason. Suddenly everything went deadly quiet as the two stared at each other. Kagome was sure that he could hear her heart beating, the way that his ears were twitching. The quite was broken by a far off crack and the word 'Henati!' which echoed over the lake.

Inuyasha's face transformed from fear and panic, to one of deep thought, concentration, and confusion. "Wait…" came his voice, soft and quiet, " before that, d-did you say that you l-…" he paused and gulped, "that you l-love me?" He could hear Kagome's heart beating, and it nearly matched the frantic rhythm of his own. He felt light headed, and his mind didn't want to believe what he thought only his heart had heard.

He brought himself to look at Kagome, and was rather stunned to see that she was staring at him, completely stone faced, with a bright red blush the only indication of her emotions. Inuyasha's throat felt dry, and his voice came out sounding rather hoarse. "P-please Kagome, tell me…." She was rather shocked when at this point she found herself wrapped in his arms, his chin resting on her shoulder, her hands on his warm skin of his chest.

She smiled. "I think you heard me…" she said, and was once again surprised when she felt his grip on her tighten.

"I-I don't know if I heard right. Please Kagome…" The way that he said her name made her heart sing, and tears come to her eyes.

"I love you Inuyasha," she whispered, burying her face in his shoulder. Her eyes widened as she felt a drop of water land on her neck.

"Damn it, Kagome," she heard him whisper, "I swear, I'm never talking to you again when you're asleep. You're not supposed to be able to hear me then."

She smiled. "Would you have wanted me to have been sleeping?" she asked gently. She felt him shudder, and he pulled back a little. Any trace of tears was gone from his eyes.

He stared down at her, his eyes dancing with fear mixed with happiness. "Do you really love me?" he asked, his voice lined with hope that she would say yes, and fear that she could say no.

She traced a finger along his jaw. "Yes," was all she was able to get out.

She was rather shocked when he smiled and stood up, picking her up with him. "Then you're never allowed to fall asleep again when I'm talking," he murmured, "Wench." Somehow, the word wench had lost its sharp edge, and was instead soft and tender, although Kagome still chastised him for it as they walked back to camp to rescue Miroku from Sango….or Sango from Miroku, whichever way you look at it.

…………………………………………………………………………...

A/N: Wheee, another fluffy chapter! Wow I love writing those! Please don't ask for any more chapters on this story though, because I'm already working on two other stories, and I have three planned after that, so this is going to be a 2 chapter story, and that's it. Sorry if that's disappointing, but I have three other stories up if you really want more! Thank you so much for all the support thought! You're all wonderful! I'll try and post a oneshot story every so often though. Anja.


End file.
